Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin Sunday told the BBC that the UK’s revised Northern Ireland post-Brexit trade protocol would “effectively be very damaging to the NI economy.” As Martin noted, “it represents a form of economic vandalism on Northern Ireland.” 

The UK government’s Reformed Northern Ireland Protocol is intended to ease the flow of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The revised protocol would create higher checks for goods between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. According to Martin, the revised protocol would damage Northern Ireland’s economy because it would increase costs to NI businesses. He said that Northern Ireland’s economy was during well with the current post-Brexit trade protocol. Further, he said, the UK’s new unilateral decision would “undermine almost all aspects” of the original protocol.

Martin encouraged further negotiations between the UK and the EU. “What now needs to happen is really substantive negotiations between the British government and the European Union,” he said.